Basic Report on Psychological Evaluations of Kokedama, Small Bonsai

A Case Study of Atsugi City Green Festival

Abstract

Recently, bonsai has been gaining in popularity both in Japan and overseas. While bonsai has long been established as a traditional hobby among older generations in Japan, an increasing number of younger people also enjoy bonsai trees today, with small bonsai seeing a boost in popularity in particular. From the various small bonsai trees, this paper focuses on kokedama (moss ball bonsai). Except for some consumer behavior surveys, research on kokedama is still very limited and a few surveys have elucidated how people evaluate kokedama psychologically. Of the various types of bonsai trees attracting increased attention around the world, kokedama are expected to gain special favor overseas because of their beautiful appearance and their ease of maintenance. This paper reports the preliminary findings of a psychological evaluation of kokedama conducted on visitors to kokedama exhibition/lesson booths at the Atsugi City Green Festival held in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The survey results showed that kokedama were evaluated from the three psychological perspectives of “cheerfulness,” “peacefulness,” and “calmness.” Of the three perspectives, “cheerfulness” gained higher scores among older generations compared to younger generations. The highest gain of “cheerfulness” may be attributed to the petite, but significant unique appearance of kokedama.